Ramona Singer's Event Planner Reveals the Key to Throwing a Great Party

Lawrence Scott Gottesman has been planning events for almost 30 years, so for him, planning Ramona Singer's surprise party was a piece of, well, birthday cake. While a lot of special touches went into her celebration (note the servers wearing Swarovski crystal-encrusted masks), Lawrence says it's the bar that makes all the difference in how successful a party is.

"I think today the bar becomes so much more important than the food, because, for me, people get insecure," says Gottesman. "They gravitate toward the bar to have something to sort of make them calm. It’s like liquid Valium. It sort of makes them a little bit more comfortable, and then they venture out to talking. Sometimes they start out snobby, and then they get down and dirty. That’s my methodology."

Gottesman is also a big believer in lots and lots of food.

"No one’s ever going to a diner after one of my parties. I don’t want people walking out and saying, 'Oh my god, I gotta go to Shake Shack and get a burger.'"

By the looks of it, we'd say his efforts were a success. See more photos from Ramona's party below.